20 Days
by da Panda
Summary: A mysterious unheard of disease is spreading around and many humans are dying, and one who has caught that disease is Kazune. Now, only Karin and Michiru must find the cure in a whole other dimension, with only 20 days to do so. R&R!


20 Days

**20 Days**

**Summary: **A mysterious unheard of disease is spreading around and many humans are dying, and one who has caught that disease is Kazune. Now, only Karin and Michiru must find the cure in a whole other dimension, with Kirio trying to get on to their trail to get to the cure first, with only 20 days to do it

20 Days- Chapter One- The Silence

Myths and urban legends don't exist, right? They're just fairytales trying to scare people or get them into the subject. The Lockness Monster in Scotland is only a fake creature, that photograph the teenagers took in the 1960's was probably just a large fish or a shadow. And the crop signs turned out to be two farmers disrupting farmer's fields, right? So, what do urban legends have to do with us? Why do they exist? We may never know about the answer to that question, neither do we of a brand-new disease that has begun.

_Name of the disease: Black Haze_

_Effects of this disease: Continuous heart pains, Frequent vomiting, Weakened states, Pain everywhere, Depression, and contagion_

_They say this disease has just begun, it is only said in a legend…but why are so many people, from newborn babies to those who have lived 100 years, still die from all of this pain? Could an urban legend really be __**true?**_

Kazune awoke to his alarm clock and he shut it off quickly before the sound of its annoying screeches can echo into his ears. He checked the window outside. Still winter. It was getting colder and colder by the days and the snow was beginning to pile in, and many days of school were cancelled so far due to the amount of the fallen snow transformed from dainty snowflakes to ominous blizzards. Kazune sighed and grabbed the remote control from under his bed and turned on the TV in front of him. He flipped the channel to his school-broadcasting channel to see if school was available today.

Attention: Due to blizzard, school has been cancelled today for Sakuraoka Academy

Another day off…

Kazune really did not want to get up out of his bed, since the heater was not working in the house and it was cold everywhere he went, and he buried his head under the covers.

"God, why am I so tired?"

There were a couple knocks on the door.

"Kazune-chan, it's me!" Himeka said from the other side of the bedroom door. Kazune peeked over from the covers and stared at the door in excitement. Himeka, Karin, and Q-Chan took turns putting hot towels and steaming hot food in bedrooms, and it was about time Himeka came with it.

"Oh, come in." Kazune said softly. Himeka turned the doorknob open and hummed a cheerful melody as she laid a warm, steaming towel on Kazune to replace his blanket. The heat felt soothing and relaxing, and it deeply reminded him of the hot spring vacation him and his friends (excluding Kirio Karasuma) took together. Himeka also had a small tray with fresh ramen on it.

"Karin-Chan will be up with the croquettes later." Himeka said happily. Kazune yawned and stood up.

"Kazune-Chan?"

"I need to freshen up, my breath smells like a pig sty." Kazune said as he walked past Himeka and to the nearest bathroom. But before he could reach out for the doorknob to the bathroom, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, like a shock you get from another person's touch, but ten times stronger, ten times worse. He clasped his hand over his heart and immediately felt a dizziness overcome him, and before he knew it, he was on the carpet.

"Kazune-Chan!" Himeka dashed over to Kazune, lying on the carpet.

"H-Himeka…why do I feel so weak? It's been ages since I last transformed…" Kazune said weakly with his eyes still shut, but she knew they were in pain. Karin came up the stairs with the cream plate of croquettes when she gasped at Kazune lying on the floor, weakened.

"Kazune-kun?" Karin set the tray on a nearby table and rushed over to her friend.

"Kazune-kun, what happened?" She asked worriedly. Kazune still didn't open his eyes; it was as if his eyes were too weak to even move an inch.

"Karin…I don't know…I feel so…tired…so…weak…" Kazune replied so softly, as if he were only talking in his sleep. Karin looked terrified. The god rings were over...why was he so sick? Was it only a cold? No, colds weren't this dangerous…what could it be?

"I'll carry him to his room…" Himeka said. Surprisingly, Himeka-chan was strong enough to carry Kazune back to his room. After a few long minutes, Karin rushed to Kazune's room. He still didn't open his eyes, but he was still able to speak.

"K-Karin…is there any presence of god transformation anywhere?" Kazune asked his friend. Karin's ring was destroyed, but she can still feel the powers of kamika nearby. She closed her eyes and felt nothing odd, not a strange presence near. She opened her eyes again and responded.

"No, no where, Kazune-kun…"

"Then…what's happening to me—…" He stopped and started coughing like crazy…later, he was coughing up blood…Karin did nothing but scream. Her friend was so sick…this has never happened before ever since the kamika rings were all destroyed. Q-chan rushed into the room and had a glass of water and a pill. Kazune stopped coughing, blood dripping on the floor, as he tried to grab the glass of water…but his hand slipped…the glass shattered as water went everywhere.

"This is worse than I thought…" Q-chan said softly, but loud enough for Karin to hear.

"What's worse?" She grabbed Q-chan's arm. "What's happening to him? What's going on?" She wept. Q-chan stood there, deciding whether to tell the young girl what was happening. Before he said anything, Michiru came into the room.

"Kazune-kun, good morning!" He said cheerfully…until he saw blood dripping from his friend's mouth. Kazune continued coughing like crazy, vomiting up more blood. Michiru then felt something terrible…this was not good.

"Hanazono…we must talk…now." Michiru said with seriousness. Karin stood up, trembling, and exited the room with Michiru. They went into the kitchen.

"Hanazono-san, have you ever heard of the disease the Black Haze?" Michiru asked. Karin blinked. She shook her head. Michiru then walked over to a basket full of newspapers. He pulled out a newspaper from today. As he rummaged through the pages, he found what he was searching for.

"Look at this…" He said. Karin grabbed the newspaper page and trembled as she read each word on the newspaper article…

The Black Haze Strikes Again

_**The Black Haze disease, now a big threat in the year, has increased. Our most recent victim for this fatal disease is a six-year old girl, Haruka Oda. She got the disease on January 2**__**nd**__**, 2007, and she died on the 22**__**nd**__** of January…although her suffering has ended, many people stand up and try to fight back the disease. No one knows the cause of this disease, but scientists are doing their best to find the cure. So far, no cure, no medicine, no prescription has worked. Here are other deaths of the Black Haze, fatal disease:**_

_**Michiko Haruko- Age: 27- got the disease on the 29**__**th**__** on November and died on the 18**__**th**__** of December**_

_**Kyo Sarubi- Age: 64- got the disease on the 5**__**th**__** of October, and died on the 25**__**th**__** of October…**_

Karin continued reading the names…there were so many…over one hundred…from young children like Haruka to elders like Kyo…Karin closed the newspaper.

"What does this have to do with—?"

"**Kazune has this disease**."

Karin froze. Her life shattered. Kazune…no…he couldn't have this…not him…of all people, not him

"No…Michi…not Kazune-kun…not…not…" She whispered, tears streaming down her face like rain. Michiru felt her pain and turned away, not looking at each tear on her cheeks.

"He has all the symptoms…vomiting up blood…chest pains…weakness…can't even hold a glass of water without fainting…" Michiru said softly. Karin looked up from her sobbing and slapped Michiru. Michiru fell on the ground, Karin picking him up from his shirt.

"MICHI! HE DOESN'T HAVE IT, OKAY? OKAY? KAZUNE COULDN'T HAVE IT! NOT HIM! NOT HIM! **NOT HIM!**" Karin yelled, screamed, and cried. Michiru just lay there, speechless at Karin's behavior. Karin sobbed, still clinging onto Michiru's shirt, saying nothing, and shouting nothing else. Michiru stood up, helping Karin up.

"But, there might be a way to save him…" Michiru said. Karin looked up, saying nothing. Michiru grabbed the newspaper page from the ground, since Karin dropped it. Karin didn't want to look at it ever again…it was like crawling like a worm from a bird, that horrible feeling that she felt deep inside…Kazune mustn't die.

"Hanazono-san, look at these dates…there's something in common with all of them…" Michiru handed Karin the newspaper, who didn't accept, she didn't want to see it…it was too horrid. Then, he set it on the kitchen counter…Karin resisted and stared at the black letters printed onto the gray, thin papers. She looked at each date, the day the victim got the disease to the death date…she saw nothing…only a few people got the disease on the same day…but…the death date was on the same day…how was that possible?

"There must be something weird about these dates, but I don't see anything…" Karin muttered. Michiru pointed at each date.

"Count how many days from the day the victim got the disease to the date of death…" Michiru said calmly. Karin peered down at the paper and counted Haruka's date…20 days…she counted the next date, Michiko…20 days…Kyo…20 days…

"They have 20 days before dying?" Karin asked. Michiru nodded.

"That's right. No one has noticed that before, but I did. Isn't it unusual that a person gets the disease, and exactly 20 days later, they wind up dead?" Michiru stated. Karin nodded weakly.

"We can still save Kazune…in the time of 20 days…if we do that…then he will still be alive…before it's too late…" Michiru said. Karin blinked.

"But…but, they said that they can't find a cure yet…how can we find it? We're only kids…" Karin pointed out. Michiru looked up.

"Kids, huh? I felt the presence of kamika…maybe kamika has something to do with this…" Michiru said. Karin was stunned. Kamika? Weren't all the god rings destroyed, though? But…maybe…just maybe…kamika still existed…it was resurrected somehow…

"Since we still have some kamika remaining in us, even without the rings, we will depart today and find the cure…"

"Where do you think the cure will be at?"

"If we rely on our kamika powers, we'll find it eventually…easier said than done, I bet…" Michiru exclaimed. Karin nodded. Then, out of no where…there was a strange flash…foot steps were heard from the room next door…Michiru ran into the living room, Karin following him inside…Karin screamed at the sight they both saw…Haruka's ghost…

**To be continued in chapter two…**


End file.
